4 comments:

First, I want to say I love your blog. I do, however, sometimes disagree. This is one of those times.

It strikes me that much of what Wayne Dyer is writing about are "symptoms" of depression, and as such telling someone with MDD to simply change these things is neglecting to see depression as an illness.

Rather is appears that the depressed person is at fault for continuing to remain depressed. The "amotivation" and "choice" described in the first quote are two examples that come to mind " Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice”, He says.

Then he extoles the virtues of buying and reading books by Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy and Echart Tolle. From my perspective the former and latter (I'm not familiar with Tracy) are purveyors of "magical thinking". Be positive and good things will happen. These types of books are disheartening to those of us who have struggled so hard to get well.

Also, "relying on external validation", or "trying to please everyone else" are symptoms of my depression. I am not like that when I am well. If I'm not mistaken one of the sumptoms of atypical depression is rejection sensitivity, which appears to me to be a at the core of this "people pleaser: dynamic.

Dear Aqua,To my opinion this post has no intention of ridiculing depression. But I am not to familiar with the background of this blog or the writer. The reason it appealed to me is because people not being depressed can have these feelings as well. Maybe not as severe or as many symptoms but they can. Maybe they can appreciate some of the suggestions.Regards Dr Shock

I just want to apologize for my "cranky" post. I have very few people in my life who understand I have an illness and that my MDD is not something I do to myself, or something I can just fix by being more positive. I sometimes feel extremely defensive when I read similar sounding advice. I recognize you aren't one of those people. Sorry.

About Me

Dr Shock is a pseudonym for a psychiatrist working in a University Hospital. His main topics of interest are the treatment of depression and electro convulsive therapy. Other subjects for this personal blog are research, article reviews, book reviews and education. He loves computers and Internet.